


How to Raise a Cat

by purple_bookcover



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Cat, First Kiss, Inspired by Fanart, M/M, Sweet, ashe is a sneaky one, ashelix - Freeform, felix's hates cats, no he doesn't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 02:24:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20845997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purple_bookcover/pseuds/purple_bookcover
Summary: Felix Hugo Fraldarius hates cats. So why is he chasing one around the monastery at night? Fortunately for him, silver-haired help is on the way.





	How to Raise a Cat

**Author's Note:**

> This is for #ferarepairweek! Honestly, it still blows my mind that these two beautiful idiots are considered a rare pair. 
> 
> This fic was inspired by this absolutely heart-crushingly cute piece of [fanart](https://twitter.com/heirror/status/1171526395383578624/photo/2). 
> 
> If you know my main fic, Knight and Squire, this is not really a part of it. I suppose it could exist as an aside, but it doesn't "officially" fit into that story. If you DON'T know my main fic and want some X-rated Ashelix for several chapters, [check it out](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20711285/chapters/49199699). 
> 
> This fic takes place after the timeskip, but the spoilers are very light. This is really just a fluffy oneshot.

"Oh, Annette, it's perfect!" Ashe held up the hooded jacket, grinning. 

"You like it?" Annette said. "I hope it fits."

"I love it," Ashe said. He immediately shrugged out of the jacket he'd been wearing, letting it fall to the floor of Annette's room in Garreg Mach. It was funny how they all went back to their old dorm rooms even after five years. Once they'd completed the process of making the monastery livable again, everyone had resumed living where they had before, as though nothing had changed.

But they weren't children anymore. And this wasn't peaceful times. That just made the gift from Annette all the more precious, Ashe thought. 

"Oh goddess, you look adorable," Annette squealed. She practically skipped over to him, helping him put up the hood. "Yes, that's perfect."

Ashe beamed. The modification to his old jacket had been an indulgent request. With all of them preparing for war, it had seemed outlandishly frivolous. But even dark times needed some joy, right? 

"What about yours?" Ashe said.

"Don't worry," Annette said. "I finished both." She shrugged into her own jacket, throwing up the hood. Annette put up her hands, balled into fists to mimic cat paws. "What do you think?" 

He curled his own hands like paws and batted at the cat ears sewn to his hood in response. 

Annette laughed. She hummed to herself, then sang: "Kitty cat, kitty cat, where do you go? Kitty cat, kitty cat, I just want to know." 

Ashe soon joined her and for just an afternoon they forgot the looming threat of death and battle that hung over the rebuilt Garreg Mach.

#

Felix Hugo Fraldarius did not like cats. Or dogs. Or people. Or much of anything, really.

It was therefore only with tremendous frustration that he found himself chasing one of the aforementioned through Garreg Mach at night. 

It wasn't like he _wanted_ to be hunting down the stupid cat, but the damn thing had gotten startled when Sylvain dropped a plate in the dining hall and then bolted, and Felix could see when it ran that the little runt had gone and hurt itself somehow and he'd tried to find it all afternoon but just hadn't been able and now here he was because _damn it_ he'd spent too long on this goddess-cursed cat and he was going to see this through!

And so he crouched near the bush he was fairly sure the cat had scurried under, tearing up cold, leftover chicken. He made a trail of the chicken from the bush to a bench a few paces back. Then he settled onto the bench, trying to remain as still and quiet as possible and hoping the little fellow eventually got brave or hungry enough to investigate. 

He watched the sun set over the monastery to keep his focus away from the bush. Surely the cat would just run if it saw him staring. 

Red streaked the sky as Felix waited. It deepened to purple, obscuring the town and wilderness beyond the monastery. Somewhere out there, more enemies awaited. Edelgard and her mages. Thieves trying to take advantage of the war. Beasts unleashed by horrific forces. But just for now, Felix let himself relax on the bench and think the world beyond Garreg Mach was as simple and explicable as he'd once believed it. 

He startled awake before realizing he'd fallen asleep. The last tendrils of sunlight had long ago been replaced by stars. The night air had grown cold, yet he felt oddly warm around the thighs. 

Felix looked down and found a bundle of fur curled up in his lap, purring as it slept. 

"You made a friend," a voice said. 

It took every ounce of Felix's control not to jump. He looked up from the cat and found Ashe standing before him in the dark. 

"What are you doing out here?" Ashe said. "It's late. Were you sleeping?" 

Ashe sat beside him. 

"I was..." Felix's voice was raspy with sleep. He blinked, trying to get his bearings, to sort through the series of strange things he'd found since waking up on a bench. "It was hurt." It was the best he could manage in the moment. 

"Oh no," Ashe said. He reached for the sleeping cat, scratching its ears. The cat purred louder and shifted, offering Ashe its chin. 

Felix struggled to remain still as this all unfolded in his lap. It was no small effort, between the purring and the nearness of Ashe's hand. That mop of silver hair nearly tickled Felix's chin as Ashe bent over to pet the cat. 

Finally, Ashe straightened up. Felix stifled a sigh of relief. 

"It looks like it got a little cut on its paw," Ashe said, "but nothing too bad. Don't worry." 

"I--I'm not worried." Worried? About a _cat_? Certainly not. 

"What will you name it?"

Felix blinked, taken aback. _Name it?_

"Oh, but you have to name it," Ashe said. "You can't just have a pet and never name it." 

"_A pet?_" That was too much. Felix nearly tossed the thing off his lap, injured or not. 

"What about... Loog?" Ashe said. He scratched at the cat's chin again. "Would you like that, little Loog? Oh, but it's gotten cold out here." Ashe paused to put his hood up and that's when Felix saw it, two cotton cat ears sewn to the top of Ashe's jacket. 

Felix nearly choked. It was so... so... 

So _cute_. 

Ashe caught him looking and blushed. "Oh no, is it the hood? Annette made it for me and I know it's silly but I really love it. She took the time to sew it herself and all. She even has a matching one." 

Felix dared not attempt to speak just then. 

Ashe looked up at him from under that ridiculous cat hood, his eyes as mischievous as a feline's. "I could help you take care of it, if you like." 

"That would be good, I suppose," Felix said. Goddess, when had he agreed to take care of the cat in the first place? 

"I have a condition."

"A condition?" 

"That's right," Ashe said. He sat up straight and fixed Felix with those big green eyes of his. A blush hid his freckles, yet he held Felix's gaze, resolute. "I want a kiss."

"A what?" Felix spluttered. 

"I'll come help you take care of Loog," Ashe said, "but every time--" He held up a finger. "One kiss." 

Felix felt his face burn. "T--t--that's--"

"I think my terms are quite fair." Ashe crossed his arms, even as the blush obscuring his freckles deepened. "Well? What will it be?"

Felix swallowed. Hard. He looked down at the cat in his lap, purring contentedly. He couldn't take another moment of Ashe staring at him determined and blushing and, goddess damn him, so annoyingly _adorable_ in that stupid, stupid, absolutely dumb cat hood.

"Fine," he managed between gritted teeth, still looking at the cat rather than Ashe. 

"What?" 

"I said," Felix snapped, "_fine_." 

"Great!" Ashe said. "I take payment up front."

"_Excuse me?_" He jerked his head back up to gape at the brazen little archer.

"First," Ashe said, holding up a finger, "I helped you tonight. Second, consider it a deposit on all future installments. Third--"

Felix grabbed him by the front of his shirt before he could go on and pulled Ashe's lips to meet his own. It would stop him from talking, he told himself, stop him from going on about this ridiculous business of payment. And... and... 

Felix pressed closer. Ashe's hands were on his shoulders. The silver-haired man tasted sweet and warm; he smelled of old books and the mint tea he loved so much. Felix inhaled, even as the kiss stretched on, trying to imprint that scent on his mind. 

And all the while Ashe held onto him, so close now their chests nearly touched. 

Finally, Felix let the kiss end. They sat back, each keeping a hand on the other. Felix felt oddly winded, like he'd fought a battle and barely escaped alive. 

"You drive a hard bargain," he said, but his voice came out in a whisper. 

Ashe suddenly jumped up, leaving Felix feeling cold. "I know," he said, laughing. "See you soon." Ashe winked before spinning on his heel and turning his back to Felix. He practically skipped away, the cat ears on his hood bobbing with each bounce. 

In his lap, the cat roused, stretching and kneading. It sat on his thighs, looked right up at Felix and let out a hungry meow. 

Felix sighed, scooping up the little fiend. "I hate cats," he grumbled as he carried the purring menace through Garreg Mach and to his room. "What do you like to eat, Loog?"

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/purplebookcover) (18+)!
> 
> I respond to every comment. Thank you, friends!


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